Jailed, tax inspector who stole dead man’s identity for £171k con

A FORMER tax inspector who used a dead man’s identity to hide a six-figure fraud has been jailed.

James McGee, a VAT inspector for HMRC for more than three decades, exploited his knowledge of the system to make a series of fraudulent claims.

McGee, 66, of Troon, Ayrshire, made false VAT repayment claims totalling £171,000 while using the hijacked identity of a dead man. He left his job in 2009 after 34 years but was arrested in 2013 when he was found to have two bank cards in the name of the dead man. One account had been opened after the man died and the other had been credited with some of the fraudulently obtained money.

McGee claimed the deceased was the mastermind behind the scheme.

Officers searching McGee’s home seized handwritten paper records which contained detailed information on several VAT-registered businesses. Experts confirmed the records matched McGee’s entries in his old HMRC diaries and notebooks.

McGee was initially arrested as part of a National Crime Agency investigation into identity fraud, of which he was cleared.

But documents suggested he was involved in VAT fraud, triggering an HMRC inquiry.

McGee insisted he was not responsible for any criminality, but admitted using the false identity when calling HMRC’s VAT helpline. Along with three others – Mark Dryden, 37, of Glasgow, Carly McGinley, 33, of Clydebank, Dunbartonshire, and Gary Prentice, 36, of Glasgow – he fraudulently obtained money from HMRC, with the proceeds being laundered through accounts controlled by McGee and the others.

Dryden pleaded guilty to being concerned in an arrangement of criminal property and was sentenced to ten months in prison; McGinley admitted

‘Shameful way to act’

to being involved in serious organised crime and was fined £1,120; Prentice admitted involvement in serious and organised crime and being concerned in an arrangement of criminal property and was handed a 300-hour community payback order.

In total, £101,443.14 was paid out due to the false VAT repayment claims, while a further £70,351 was withheld by HMRC.

McGee was finally jailed yesterday for 30 months after being found guilty last month of one count of VAT fraud and two counts of money laundering.

Following the sentencing hearing yesterday, Lynsey Thompson, operational lead for HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service, said: ‘McGee used his knowledge of the VAT system to co-ordinate a scheme to steal from the public purse – money that is essential to fund the services we need, such as hospitals and schools.

‘This was a shameful way for a former employee of 34 years to act, but this conviction shows that nobody is above the law.’